Citrulline Malate: The Perfect Supplement for Vegan Bodybuilders

When it comes to the question of meat consumption, opinions are divided. Whenever you’re a vegan, vegetarian or, just prefer eating a plant based diet, hitting your macros in terms of protein can be a challenge.

Because most plant foods contain less protein than animal foods and are of a different amino acid composition, building muscle on plant-based diets has been proven more difficult. Plant-based protein powders have become popular to address this issue, but what if there was another option?

As we will discover in this article, there are other, lesser known amino acids out there that offer anabolic properties to prevent muscle breakdown, even on low protein diets.

Citrulline: The Big Brother of Arginine

Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid commonly found in watermelons. It is a direct precursor to the amino acid L-Arginine, which most people have heard of in fitness circles or as a sexual aid for mild erectile problems.

Citrulline, in the same way as L-Arginine, increase nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide relaxes the blood vessels allowing for better blood flow and circulation. Both supplements are used in the same way however Citrulline has been proven to have unique benefits as well as being more efficient since the liver does not break it down as quickly.

Previous animal studies have shown that Citrulline can protect against muscle breakdown when eating a low-calorie diet. Plant-based diets often contain more fiber and are not as dense in calories; hence many people might be consuming fewer calories than they normally would eating animal foods, even though they eat until they are full at each meal.

It was hypothesised that Citrulline would likely protect against muscle breakdown in the same way on human subjects eating a diet low in protein.

To test this, eight subjects was fed a low protein diet (0.7g protein per kg body weight) for three days, and on the fourth day, Citrulline was consumed. As expected, Citrulline boosted the synthesis of new muscle protein, the effect was specific to muscle tissue and did not affect other tissues in the body, clearly demonstrating an anabolic effect.

The mechanism behind this anabolic effect is still a mystery since Citrulline did not show any measurable effect on either insulin, IGF-1 or any other hormones. In other words, Citrulline is a safe anabolic compound that does not upset your bodies natural hormonal balance.

Introducing Total War

Because of Citrulline being the incredible compound it is, we have chosen to include it in our designated pre-workout supplement Total War. Total War is specially formulated to offer you amazing pump, immense energy and razor sharp focus. It also contains many other potent nitric oxide releasing compounds such as Agmatine Sulfate and Cacao Extract.

Agmatine is another metabolite of L-Arginine, but it differs in its actions. Instead of releasing nitric oxide, Agmatine prevents nitric oxide from being broken down too quickly, keeping it circulating in your body longer. This will make sure that incredible pump lasts your whole workout and even beyond that.

The Cacao bean is what produces the third most consumed stimulant on the planet, chocolate. We all know it tastes amazing but did you know it has some significant health benefits too? Cacao is one of the most potent foods for increasing blood flow and has in studies been shown to increase blood flow to the brain to such a degree, that it improves cognition and memory function. The epicatechin in our cacao extract is also a natural myostatin inhibitor which will help you build more muscle.

This is only a handful of the effective ingredients, as proven by science, we have included in Total War. If you are looking for a powerful pre-workout supplement that will cover all your bases and provide you with the highest state of readiness, look no further than Total War.